My Summer Reading List: 2012
I just graduated from the esteemed Boyce College, the undergraduate wing of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, so my “free” time seems to have exploded. There’s something special and important about picking up a few books and reading them for your own pleasure. Like some others in the blogosphere, I’m picking up a few specific books this summer and diving in:
Incredible resource been Jean Twenge . From the description on Amazon: Narcissism—an inflated view of the self—is everywhere. Public figures say it’s what makes them stray from their wives. Parents teach it by dressing children in T-shirts that say “Princess.” Teenagers and young adults hone it on Facebook, and celebrity newsmakers have elevated it to an art form. And it’s what’s making people depressed, lonely, and buried under piles of debt.
Jean Twenge’s influential first book, Generation Me, spurred a national debate with its depiction of the challenges twenty- and thirty-somethings face in today’s world—and the fallout these issues create for educators and employers. Now, Dr. Twenge turns her focus to the pernicious spread of narcissism in today’s culture, which has repercussions for every age group and class. Dr. Twenge joins forces with W. Keith Campbell, Ph.D., a nationally recognized expert on narcissism, to explore this new plague in The Narcissism Epidemic, their eye-opening exposition of the alarming rise of narcissism and its catastrophic effects at every level of society. Even the world economy has been damaged by risky, unrealistic overconfidence. Drawing on their own extensive research as well as decades of other experts’ studies, Drs. Twenge and Campbell show us how to identify narcissism, minimize the forces that sustain and transmit it, and treat it or manage it where we find it. Filled with arresting, alarming, and even amusing stories of vanity gone off the tracks (would you like to hire your own personal paparazzi?), The Narcissism Epidemic is at once a riveting window into the consequences of narcissism, a prescription to combat the widespread problems it causes, and a probing analysis of the culture at large. WARNING: Some of the research is not all child-safe.
This is a fascinating book by Malcolm Gladwell. From Amazon: “Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of “outliers”–the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?
His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their family, their generation, and the idiosyncratic experiences of their upbringing. Along the way he explains the secrets of software billionaires, what it takes to be a great soccer player, why Asians are good at math, and what made the Beatles the greatest rock band. This is the book with the 10,000 hour principle.”
I am starting a new job here very soon and as a college graduate, I need any and all advice I can get.
From Amazon: “Fully a quarter of all managers in major corporations enter new leadership roles each year. Whether their assignments involve leading a work group or taking over a company as CEO, they face very similar challenges–and risks–in those critical first months on the job. How new leaders manage their transitions can make all the difference between success and failure.
In this hands-on guide, Michael Watkins, a noted expert on leadership transitions, offers proven strategies for moving successfully into a new role at any point in one’s career. Concise and practical, The First 90 Days walks managers through every aspect of the transition, from mental preparation to forging the right alliances to securing critical early wins. Through vivid examples of success and failure at all levels, Watkins identifies the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter and provides tools and strategies for how to avoid them.”
Looking forward to diving into this pastoral treatise by Southern Seminary faculty member Thom Schreiner. From Amazon: “Thomas Schreiner’s substantial New Testament Theology examined the unifying themes that emerge from a detailed reading of the New Testament canon. This student-level digest of Schreiner’s massive work explores the key themes and teachings of the New Testament in a more accessible and concise way. The book summarizes the findings of Schreiner’s larger work and provides answers to the “so what?” question of New Testament theology. Comprehensive and up to date, this survey is arranged thematically and includes careful exegesis of key passages. It offers students, pastors, and lay readers a big picture view of what the New Testament is all about.”